Steph Curry, Warriors Spoil Klay Thompson's Return, Beat Mavericks 120-117

Steph Curry scored the last 12 points for the Warriors to lift them to the victory

Nov 12, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) shoots over Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) in the second quarter at the Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks kicked off Group Play of the NBA Cup against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night in San Francisco as Klay Thompson returned to face his former team. That was the biggest headline from this game early on, but this was arguably a must-win for the Mavs. They've started the season 5-5 and were coming off back-to-back losses and couldn't afford to fall too far behind the contenders in the West this early in the season.

Dallas got Dereck Lively II back from injury but started Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall, and Daniel Gafford, while the Warriors started Stephen Curry, De'Anthony Melton, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, and Trayce Jackson-Davis.

READ MORE: Golden State Warriors Fans React To Klay Thompson's Return

It was once again a slow start for the Mavericks, facing a nine-point deficit midway through the first quarter. In a night about Klay Thompson, it was Stephen Curry who got out to a hot start and had 12 points on 5/8 shooting in the first quarter. Dallas struggled to shoot from three early and were turning it over at a high rate, which got them in their early hole.

Luka Doncic was able to put in 10 early points on solid efficiency, but the team was just 3/10 from three in the first quarter. Against a hot shooting team like the Warriors, that's an easy way to fall into a deficit. And a deficit is exactly what they faced entering the second quarter, down 33-27.

Thanks to some crafty finishes from Doncic, they were able to cut the lead down to one in the opening minutes of the second quarter before Jaden Hardy found Daniel Gafford in transition to take a lead, their first since the opening minutes of the game. A 13-0 run gave the Mavs a six-point advantage, which was capped off by a Klay Thompson corner three where he gave the famous Curry Shimmy.

Dallas would lead by as much as 11 in the second quarter as Doncic was on an offensive heater for the first time since the second game of the season against the Suns. But the Warriors used a late first-half run to close the lead down to four at halftime, but the Mavs took a 63-59 lead into the break behind Doncic's 22 points and Thompson's 11.

READ MORE: Mavericks’ Klay Thompson Drains First 3-Pointer Against Former Team in Warriors Reunion

Golden State quickly tied the game back up to start the second half after a few sloppy possessions from the Mavs. Thompson hit a three to stop the bleeding temporarily, but the Warriors would take a six-point lead soon after following a Curry three over Dereck Lively. The slow starts that kill the Mavs to open games had now spread over to the start of the second half.

A few minutes later, the Warriors extended the lead to 13, their largest of the game, as Dallas' offense went stagnant. They'd chip the lead down to three with some made shots by Doncic and Kyrie Irving, but the Warriors would push the lead back up to nine with Doncic on the bench. Despite some buckets when he returned to the game, Golden State held a 96-89 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Dallas used a 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter, thanks to some help from Kyrie Irving, to pull back within one. Irving then hit a step-back three following free throws by the Warriors to tie the game again at 98. Klay Thompson checked back in the game a few plays later and would give the Mavs the lead with two straight buckets, but the Warriors would tie it again at 105 midway through the fourth.

A Kyrie layup and Klay's sixth three-pointer of the night gave them a five-point lead as the Warriors called timeout with just over five minutes remaining. The Mavericks held Golden State to eight straight missed shots in this stretch, allowing them to take a little lead.

Curry would have five straight points to pull it back within one with just over two minutes remaining, and now the clutch issues that have plagued the Mavericks in their last two games started to show their ugly heads. Bad turnovers and lazy shot attempts allowed GSW to take a 115-114 lead following a Steph Curry finger-roll with 1:50 remaining. Dallas got unlucky with a bad offensive foul call on Daniel Gafford with Draymond Green standing on the restricted circle, and that started their bad stretch of play heading into the Warriors taking the lead.

A missed three by Klay Thompson and a missed free-throw line jumper from Luka Doncic set up Steph Curry, as he got the switch onto Dereck Lively and hit a three over him with under 30 seconds remaining to go up by four, and he hit Dallas with the "night-night" celebration.

Quentin Grimes hit a step-back three with 20 seconds remaining to bring it back to one, then the Mavericks started to play the foul game, sending Curry to the line. He hit both, Luka Doncic would miss the three to tie, and the Warriors would win 120-117. Curry had the last 12 points for the Warriors and lifted them to the victory.

Luka Doncic was held scoreless in the 4th quarter but finished with 31 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Kyrie Irving started to get it going in the 4th, having 21 points, but Irving and Doncic combined for ten turnovers, a big reason the Mavs lost this game.

Daniel Gafford had 15 points, and Dereck Lively II returned to put up 12 points and eight rebounds, but they weren't quite good enough against Draymond Green and Kevon Looney.

Klay Thompson had one of his best games as a Maverick, hitting six threes on his way to tying a season-high with 22 points. The game just didn't go the way he wanted to at the end.

Dallas will look back on this game and wish they didn't turn it over 17 times or shoot 11/34 from three. Luka Doncic was just 2/10 from deep, Naji Marshall was 0/3, and Kyrie Irving was 0/3. To beat a team as good as the Warriors, the best players have to play well.

Steph Curry led all players with 37 points and nine assists, hitting five three-pointers. Draymond Green was spectacular defensively and had an all-around solid game with 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists, three steals, and two blocks. Jonathan Kuminga had 16 points, Buddy Hield and De'Anthony Melton had 14 points each, and Kevon Looney gobbled in 11 rebounds in 14 minutes.

The Mavericks, who have fallen to 5-6 and start NBA Cup play 0-1, will wrap up their three-game road trip against the Utah Jazz on Thursday night.

READ MORE: Warriors' Tribute Video For Mavericks' Klay Thompson

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